Life is Beautiful

Hello All,

I hope that each of you had a wonderful and safe weekend full of fun and pure awesomeness! It certainly was a great weekend of which…I didn’t do much at all. So that in itself was awesome. Today’s blog title is brought to you by Vega 4 (from the Album You and Others). It’s the words to the song that make it that much better, so if you’ve never heard the song…I would give it a listen. For all you Grey’s Anatomy fans, this video pretty much sums up the show as well. So with that, I will jump right into it…

Erika’s 10 Things I Think I Think –

1. Although we may never know the circumstances behind Steve McNair’s death, he was a great football player. I believe he was one of the ultimate competitors of our generation. One who was an iron man in his own right, one who played through the injuries and competed every Sunday. He was a true Titan in the game of football and off of it with his efforts in charity and his work during Hurricane Katrina. R.I.P. Mr Steve McNair.

2.I am addicted to Chick-fil-A. I LOVE their chicken Sandwiches and also their lemonade. I literally grew up on this as my parents used to take us all the time when we lived in Georgia, and now that they are in Phoenix….well…let’s just say I can’t pass by one without stopping.
3. I need to take about 3 hours…and go through Jordan’s hurricane landfill of a room. Clothes, toys, movies, video games…everywhere. Yesterday when I was putting his folded clothes away, I nearly tripped and killed myself as I entered the room. So…yeah, that’s a wakeup call. Time to get rid of some of his stuff.
4. I am sorry…but people falling. Still funny to me. Yes I know, it makes me sound like my collective age is like 6…but I mean…c’mon…gravity and ground…wow. I saw a guy take a complete header at the mall the other day…while holding a soda….completely laughed out loud on that one.

5. I got invited to a luncheon last week with some of the nicest people I have met in a long time and it was truly a LOT of fun and plenty of laughs. So to V, Sheena, McKenna, and Pnina, thanks for the unexpected fun filled afternoon!
6. At my job we didn’t get the option of having the 3rd or the 6th of July off, so I “worked” both days and we got an additional day off added to our paid time off accrual. It’s o.k…I worked real hard at home those days. O.k. not really.
7. Going out of town tomorrow for the next 4 days starting tomorrow and although it is going to be a ton of fun (dinner with friends, concert with amazing seats, baseball game) I will truly miss my girlfriend.

8. Going to a game night with friends on Saturday night. I don’t know why, but when I hear game night, I always think of people sitting around a charades board with one person holding a sharpie while everyone yells out stuff that doesn’t even matter to what the person is describing. Either way, haven’t had a game night in like…3 years, so this will definitely be a fun filled evening of awesomeness.
9. Stupidity – we are surrounded by it. We are constantly reminded of someone’s innate ability to take stupid to a whole…notha….level. I wish there was a cure for the stupids, but…there is not one and we are stuck with this plague for the rest of our lives. God….help us all….
10. Didn’t realize how many people read my blog…until I don’t post one. I get so many emails, texts, or comments asking “Where’s the blog? How come you don’t have a blog up?” well I am sorry when I don’t post one…but in all fairness…I do say at the bottom of the blog in the coming attractions if I will be blogging or not. So this week…one blog since I am out of town on Friday. Next blog day will be Tuesday of next week….and that one will sum up my San Francisco trip and then some!

Rachael Real Moment – I guess a tiger does NOT change it’s stripes…as I learned last week. So I was supposed to go to Seattle over the 4th of July holiday weekend…but alas…I did not make that trip. You see for most that do not know…I was married for 4 l-o-n-g years. And we had Jordan together and although things have been good for the last few months…well that changed. I didn’t go to Seattle after we had a huge, I mean HUGE disagreement over parenting and of course some things were said and the result was me not going to Seattle. Am I steamed about it…absolutely, but I am over it. There has always been tension between her and I and it reached a point. You see, I have been more passive in my life than I would have liked to been. But…I did detail last summer about “NO More Mr. Nice Guy” (one day I will repost that blog for the viewing public as it’s on my Myspace page, it is an epic rant though) and I am sticking to that in certain aspects of my life. I refuse to be a doormat for anyone. So I said my peace to her, I mean…it wasn’t peaceful as I let out things I wanted to say for years…and you know what…oh my GOSH I have never felt better. Feel like a gigantic weight has been lifted off of me…and although I do feel slightly (I said slightly) bad about the things that were sad, but I will not apologize about it. I will not take crap from anyone anymore…believe that.

Eugene Sports thought of the Day – Team Redemption. Some words of encouragement. Last night we played and lost both games. 0-2 to start the season. But guess what? It is not how you start…but how you finish. And I am not talking about last night’s games, I am talking about the season in general. I think our biggest problem is that in the seasons we come blaring out of the gate and running through the season and when we face adversity in the playoffs…we don’t know how to overcome it. Now we have some adversity at the beginning of the season…and we will respond to it, believe it. Some minor tweaks here and there and believe it or not we will be fine. So chin up fella’s, this is a new day and next Monday, let’s attack from the minute we suit up.

Pete Thought of The Day – I am going through serious, serious beach withdrawal. I haven’t seen the ocean in quite some time and I need to go there A.S.A.P. So I am thinking beach trip in August since most of my weekends are full in July. This needs to happen or I fear I may go insane. I don’t know why, but the beach has always been a point of calming influence on me. After I leave the beach I am rejuvenated and even work is semi-tolerable. Weird…I know.

P.S. I love this picture of the beach...it's awesome.

Mindy Moment – Really wish I could have made it to Seattle this weekend. I need to reschedule and possibly come up in August or September. I will definitely be doing that soon. Sucks because the weather here in Phoenix over the weekend was 110 on Friday, 111 on Saturday, and 113 on Sunday…awesome (and by awesome, I mean…crappy).

Julie Happy Thought of the Day – I am 90% complete with two scripts that I hold near and dear to me. My musical…and my latest and GREATEST adventure script. Highly original material. The only thing is…now comes the typing…and transferring from my notebooks to my computer. That usually takes a lot longer but is also strangely rewarding. I think that the adventure script has become my favorite piece of writing in the last few years. It has been so much fun to write and I can’t wait until the rewrite takes place….which is by August.

Tracy Tad Bit O’Knowledge – Epic Fail has become my favorite phrase next to “That’s what she said.” So the other day my friend Tracy and I were jawing back and forth on Facebook and it came up about being a Retard and then a RAtard and I said “You can’t change it now, EPIC FAIL” only for her to post something I hadn’t heard…EPIC Win. So of course I hated…because I hadn’t thought of Epic Win. But rarely…rarely do you see an EPIC Win…I am all about the EPIC FAILS. Nothing says “Awesome” quite like an EPIC FAIL! Plus they are way funnier than an Epic Win.

Misty Movie Reviews –

Defiance– I am a WWII history LOVER. I love anytime I hear a new story about the era. Yes it was a sad time, but it was also a triumphant time for so many people. This movie Defiance, is about a group of Jews that fled into the woods to evade the prison camps, and survived there for 2 years. The infighting amongst them, the survival…everything. It is one of those stories that you watch and you can’t believe it happened…but it did as this is a true story, one of which I had never heard before. There were some moments that brought a tear or two to my eyes as it is sad to see what people went through to survive….Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber give great performances. It’s worth a watch. 3.5 stars.

Public Enemies – Michael Mann has always been one of my favorite directors. He’s directed Heat (AMAZING), Collateral, The Last of the Mohicans and now…Public Enemies. This movie is well crafted. The visualization of the time period makes it that much more great. The music is perfectly paired with the film. Of course…without the star power of Johnny Depp…you wonder if it will be any good…well I don’t think it would. Johnny Depp is in a league of his own. He literally thrust himself into the Oscar category with his performance. Although a bit violent, it tells the true story of a man, John Dillinger, that lived by his own rules. Christian Bale gives a great performance as well. Some of the visual shots in this movie are simply breathtaking (sorry the filmmaker in me talking). So I give it 4 stars. It is worth a watch…and then some.

Note: It is hard to watch a movie with someone who is COMPLETELY in love with Johnny Depp. It would be the equivalent of me watching the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Competition with Marisa Miller modeling. And also...I am dragging you to a movie where Kristen Bell is starring in it. F.Y.I.

Lost Season 1 – Watched all of Season 1 again, and I have to admit, seeing things that are relevant in later seasons. This show is simply amazing and to watch it from the beginning and see how the characters have evolved is crazy. For those that haven’t seen it….ABC has all of the episodes from season 1-5 on their site. If you have about 3 weeks to kill or looking for a good show to plow into…this is your show.

JJ Song of the Week – Today’s song is fitting for this time of the year. Summertime by Will Smith. If you watch the video…wow he looks so much different from 1991. Still such a great song! My friend Joel (a.k.a Reel Spitt) has just completed a tune called Summertime (#9 on the list) and I LOVE it.

Mary Random Facts –
1. Bees have five eyes
2. Cats can't taste sweets
3. A baby bat is called a pup.
4. A snail can sleep for 3 years.
5. A chicken takes 21 days to hatch.
6. Debra Winger was the voice of E.T.
7. Pearls melt in vinegar.
8. The 3 most valuable brand names on earth: Marlboro, Coca-Cola, and Budweiser, in that order.
9. Ten percent of the Russian government's income comes from the sale of vodka
10. It takes 3,000 cows to supply the NFL with enough leather for a year's supply of footballs.
11. Chuck Norris Fact of the day – Chuck Norris CAN lick his elbow
12. Bonus Chuck Norris Fact: Chuck Norris puts the FUN in Funeral

Heather Joke of the Day - How to make a woman happy….and How to make a man happy

It's not difficult to Make a Woman happy.
A man only needs to be:

1. A friend

2. A companion
3. A lover
4. A brother
5. A father
6. A master
7. A chef
8. An electrician
9. A carpenter
10. A plumber
11. A mechanic
12. A decorator
13. A stylist
14. A sexologist
15. A gynecologist
16. A psychologist
17. A pest exterminator
18. A psychiatrist
19. A healer
20. A good listener
21. An organizer
22. A good father
23. Very clean
24. Sympathetic
25. Athletic
26. Warm
27. Attentive
28. Gallant
29. Intelligent
30. Funny
31. Creative
32. Tender
33. Strong
34. Understanding
35. Tolerant
36. Prudent
37. Ambitious
38. Capable
39. Courageous
40. Determined
41. True
42. Dependable
43. Passionate
44. Compassionate

WITHOUT FORGETTING TO:

45. Give her compliments regularly
46. Love shopping
47. Be honest
48. Be very rich
49. Not stress her out
50. Not look at other girls

AND AT THE SAME TIME, YOU MUST ALSO:

51. Give her lots of attention, but expect little yourself
52. Give her lots of time, especially time for herself
53. Give her lots of space, never worrying about where she goes

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT:

54. Never to forget:
* birthdays
* anniversaries
* arrangements she makes

HOW TO MAKE A MAN HAPPY

1. Show up naked
2. Bring Beer

Hulu Pick of the Day – I just got hooked on this show called Dead Like Me. It’s about a girl that becomes part of the undead and essentially becomes a “Grim Reaper.” It is certainly an interesting show with humor sprinkled into it. It was on the air in 2003 and 2004 and I am completely into the show. It’s worth a watch (at least the Pilot episode.) So if you have time…Hulu it up!

Video Links – (Powered By Break.Com and Youtube.Com and Hulu.Com) This just proves I have too much time on my hands….
Bruno On Conan Part 1 (5:05) (REPRINTED)
Bruno On Conan Part 2 (5:10) (REPRINTED)
Chicken Biology (1:27)
All the single clowns, all the single clowns (:38)
FacePLANT (:25)
Insane Golf Trick (:41)

Jordan Quote of the week – Jordan told me the other day " No matter what, I will protect you from stupid people, I don't care who it is. I got your back." Kid is 5. He doesn't like it when people are mean to me, he doesn't care who it is. I have a really special/awesome kid. And no matter what anyone says, I believe I am doing a great job with him and he will be an asset to society.

Encouragement this week for my friends…A Marcus A. Stricklin original.

Even in the face of adversity…never give up on your dream. Never ever ever compromise who you are to please someone, because in the end…you will be the one that is hurt. Work hard every day to reach your goals because the minute you stop trying…is when you fail yourself.

V Spanish Word of the Day – note: This does NOT give you permission to use today's word on me V!!!!

Today’s word: quieto

Quieto- calm, or still.

As in…Sometimes I wish THAT kid would be quieto.

Coming Attractions –

Today – I am in the office today. I am working, but not really working. I have to go by and get my father’s tux today and then home! Packing, cleaning and all that fun stuff. Oh yeah writing, lots of it. I didn’t write one word on Monday so I have to make up for it today. And yeah…I think that’s about it.
Wednesday – At home working. I will be heading out to the airport for the trip to San Francisco and then hanging out with my friends!
Thursday – According to the e-mail I received, not much going on until 4:30 then we get to head to the NKOTB concert. Exciting!
Friday– I am assuming the words Hang and Over or Deaf are in the equation. As in…man I am deaf from that concert…thus yelling at everyone as I am tone deaf. Then going to the Giants game I think. Yeah that’s it.
Saturday – Sleeping in and hanging with friends. Get back to Phoenix around 4pm and then on to game night Saturday night! Whooooo!
Sunday – a week of Jordan starts which of course I am always excited for!!!!!!!!!! Plus we probably will do a lot of nothing.

The end –of the blog is here. I hope that each of you has a safe and awesome week and that it goes by super quick…because after all…work SUCKS! Thank you so much for reading, keep smiling, I love you…God Bless.